Tag Archive: St Paul’s

“Google” Maps of London: 1940s Style

Written on March 8, 2012 by in Architecture, Curiosities, Maps, Photography

Nowadays we are all used to seeing maps overlaid upon satellite imagery but the idea isn’t so new. Way back in 1947  London was mapped in a very similar style.

Air-Photo Atlas of London - Holborn Map

Just as in their modern day digital equivalents, places of interest were marked with little labels, over 1200 of them, showing everything from statues to blue plaques, and from museums to clubs.

These maps all come from this slim, hard-copy, volume:

I wish I had the others in the set. You can pick up copies from time to time on Amazon et al, for £8.00 – £10.00. Of course the technology being used to produce these maps was not satellite but light aircraft. However one advantage of this was that the photographers got some great aerial shots of London landmarks and published many of these in the Atlas.

Air-Photo Atlas of London - St Paul's Photo

St Paul's Cathedral

Air-Photo Atlas of London - Strand Photo

Strand, The Thames and Waterloo Bridge

I’ll be putting the whole set of these aerial photos on my Facebook page. There are many more vintage photos of  London there too:, dogs, street scenes, transport, all sorts; to see them justs “Like” the page.

Contemporary photos are on my Flickr photostream.

The author of this blog is a qualified and insured  City of Westminster Tour Guide who runs unique walking tours and private tours in London, please see tabs for details.

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A Wreath for Turner and an Unmet Deadline

Written on December 20, 2011 by in Paintings

Yesterday, the 19th December 2011, was the 160th Anniversary of the death of J.M.W. Turner. At a small evening ceremony a wreath was laid on his tomb in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral.

The wreath was placed on Turner’s tomb by by  Dr Leonard McComb RA  and the event was organised by the Independent Turner Society.

Yesterday was also the 150th anniversary of a badly slipped deadline. When Turner died he bequeathed to the nation all pictures, sketches and drawing remaining in his studio provided that they were kept together in a special gallery built for the purpose.

The promised gallery has never been built. Works from the bequest are currently split between Tate Britain, The National Gallery and The British Museum. The fact that his bequest was accepted but Turner’s key stipulation has been ignored for 150 years still rankles with The Independent Turner Society.

On their website you can read a lot more about the issues. There are articles such as THE ULTIMATE MEANING OF THE TURNER BEQUEST : A MESSAGE TO THE NATION along with A DOZEN DECEPTIONS about the fate of Turner’s “bequest” for his “gallery” and there you can also find Critiques of The Clore Gallery.

Now such titles may hint at a gentle fanaticism and perhaps mild eccentricity. (The very name of the society brought to my mind The Judean People’s Front and their perpetual  rivals The People’s Front of Judea.) But the society do have some very well respected members and enjoy high level support. Just look at the reviews for one of the Society’s major publications, The Fallacy of Mediocrity:  The Need for a Proper Turner Gallery (1992).

Your marshalling of evidence is totally convincing – the disaster of the Clore Gallery, the endless ‘economies with the truth’ from scholars & directors who should know better & the total total inactivity of the Trustees to look into it – always leaving the room saying ‘Oh we leave it to the Director.’  What are they for?”  (Sir Hugh Casson, CH, KCVO, Past President of the Royal Academy of Arts)

“So scholarly and encyclopedic an investigation … should be permanently on sale in the Tate Gallery …   Your polemic [is] wholly justified  … It was … necessary that it should be written.”  (Brian Sewell, art critic of the Evening Standard).

“Like my father [Lord Clark of Saltwood, OM], I am entirely persuaded by your case.”  (Rt.Hon. Alan Clark, MP).

Well nearly 20 years after this publication there is still no purpose built gallery housing Turner’s works as he intended them to be seen. But The Independent Turner Society continue undaunted and indefatigable in their campaign for Turner’s final wishes to be respected. I take my hat off to them, wish them eventual success and would like to thank them very much for the opportunity of attending yesterday’s ceremony.

The author of this blog is a fully qualified and insured City of Westminster Tour Guide. He runs unique walking tours in London, including some on Christmas Day, see tabs for details.

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English Heritage Mark St Paul’s Protest Camp

Written on November 11, 2011 by in Comedy, Memorials, Street Art

Wandering through the St Paul’s camp yesterday I spotted London’s newest Blue Plaque.

English Heritage have obviously leapt into action in a dash to commemorate the camp whilst it is still taking place, a dramatic break from their usual time limitation policy.

Now, this is clearly a temporary plaque but no doubt the production of a permanent, ceramic, plaque is  in hand.

I wonder whether the ceramic version will eventually be fixed to the cathedral itself or whether it will be the only official English Heritage plaque to be attached to a tree, possibly by rope, in the stylistic spirit of this original?

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>Grinling Gibbons – A Memorable Name

Written on May 10, 2011 by in Sculpture

>If I was ever asked to choose a book for Desert Island Discs it would be the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and if I ever win the lottery it will be a very early purchase. For now I rely almost daily on the online version to clarify and illuminate. A genuinely authoritative source of immense scale.

There is so much nonsense written about Grinling Gibbons on the net. A quick scan of the DNB and many myths can be cleared up in moments.

The distinctive name “Grinling” has been written as “Grinlin, Grinlen, Grinilin, Greenlin, Grindlin, Grinsted, Gringling, Gringlin, Grialin, Griblin, Grymlin, Grimling, Grimblin, and Grumblin”.

Where did the name come from? Well his father’s name was James Gibbons and his mother’s was Elizabeth Grinling. In a sentence or two David Esterly’s DNB article nails down the answer “It is a metronymic, memorializing his mother’s maiden name.”

This plaque commemorates Grinling Gibbons’ home in Bow Street. “The house collapsed in January 1702 and was rebuilt as a substantial brick structure, which Gibbons then insured for the sizable sum of £700″ The house no longer stands but nearby inside St Paul’s Covent Garden there is another memorial.

Above this is the little example of lime-wood rendered exquisite, as referred to in the panel.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I think the work of Grinling Gibbons is almost impossible to photograph properly. But I will plod on with one of the aims of my blog to document all examples of his London work and any other associations. See labels for other related Gibbons posts.

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